Italtel deploys green data centre for the University of Pisa

Italtel has designed and deployed a new green data centre at the University of Pisa, one of Italy’s oldest universities.

Working within a Raggruppamento Temporaneo di Imprese (RTI, a temporary group of companies) with West Systems and Webkorner, Italtel built the data centre within the Parco Regionale Migliarino San Rossore Massaciuccoli. This is linked to the university by a fibre optic ring, guaranteeing a high level of connectivity and reliability.

The data centre has been built with best-of-breed technologies, including racks and air conditioning technologies with a guaranteed level of quality and efficiency, bringing a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) value of 1.17. This is even lower than the requirement of 1.3 needed to certify a data centre as environmentally friendly and brings additional benefits such as reduced running costs.

“Because of their requirements for continuous power and air conditioning, data centres are traditionally associated with very high levels of energy consumption,” says Fiorenzo Piergiacomi, head of public sector account unit at Italtel.

“By choosing to create a green data centre, the University of Pisa has reduced its environmental impact while also optimising the available space and cutting ongoing maintenance costs.”

One of the key criteria for the University of Pisa when selecting its new technology infrastructure was that it meets its strict sustainability goals. Data centres are huge consumers of energy and having one that meets PUE targets while still reducing costs provided an ideal solution for the University.

The project was implemented by Italtel in just eight months, despite the infrastructure challenges posed by converting part of an existing building into a reliable and technologically-advanced data hub.